Use of the word "Hero"

While I think Chris Hayes was dead wrong saying that all fallen soldiers aren't heroes, I do agree that the word is overused. I can't come up with a real-life example off the top of my head, and I'm not going to look for one, but I know I've heard someone get called a hero for something I think isn't appropriate. Oh, I think it was when a girl ran home instead of being kidnapped. I'm sorry folks, but that isn't a "hero"--that's being smart, doing the right thing, and all that jazz, but a hero is someone who goes out of their way to save someone else. A hero would be if she kicked the guy in the shins to keep him from taking another child (please don't put yourself into that kind of danger, kids!!) or running home with the information to have the guy arrested in an hour so that he can't harm anyone else. Heroes lift burning cars off of wrecked motorcyclists--they aren't motorcyclists who pick themselves up off the pavement after laying down their bikes, no matter how self-sufficient they are.

Oh Good Grief! I guess I'm idealistic because Merriam-Webster gives this as the definition:

a person who is the object of extreme or uncritical devotion (fans of the sports hero didn't care what the facts were—in their minds, he was innocent of all criminal charges). Sports stars are not heroes unless they're spending their extra cash building playgrounds and teaching kids to get up and excercise (and even then it's dependant on how much of that is their choice and how much is their publicist talking).